We Were Strangers
by RainbowSerenity
Summary: /AkuRoku, reincarnation/ Roxas and Axel are granted their chances at a 'next life'. Will they miss this second chance they've been given, or follow it headfirst? For my dear Bouncychan!
1. Part I

_And yet another fic._ _xD I never stop, do I? –fall over-_

_This one's a three-parter, written especially for my dear GeeGee...who I don't think has an account with this site. xD Ah, well. But this is her birthday fic! Everybody send mental 'Happy Birthday!'s to that random person. Yeah, that one over there. Heh, heh._

_This is something I've been wanting to write for awhile, actually. They need to make a game just about Axel and Roxas, seriously. Hmph. Maybe I'll create some of my own scenes at Megacon. I'm cosplaying as Axel this year, and my best friend's going as Roxas. Bwhahaha._

_Anyway! Enjoy part one. :D_

**We Were Strangers**

No place made sea-salt ice cream like Twilight Town.

Well, Roxas supposed that this wasn't a really a fact. After all, sea-salt ice cream was probably made the exact same way everywhere, not that he had ever been outside of his quaint little hometown to ever taste it anywhere else.

However, it seemed like the best kind in whole known world when it was the first warm day of spring after an unusually cold winter that he could eat the stuff and not freeze into a human Popsicle. Ah, bliss.

"Whoa, Roxas! Save some for the rest of the town." Hayner ran up towards Roxas and clapped a hand on his shoulder, grinning goofily.

"I am!" the blond protested. "This is only my third ice cream today!"

"_Third_!?" Olette said, raising her eyebrows. "You really are eating enough for all of us."

"C'mon guys, let's get some before Roxas snarfs them all down," Pence joked, digging around in his pockets for some munny. "Ugh, we're gonna have to take on some odd jobs soon..."

"Not until summer!" Hayner declared. "We're too busy with school and all this dumb homework to take on any jobs right now."

"But weren't we going to plan ahead for a trip to the beach this year?" Pence asked, grinning as he found some change in his backpack. Roxas unintentionally flinched. "I'd hate for us to miss it again."

"Yeah, _Hayner_," Olette teased. "So c'mon. It won't be that bad. Plus, you three always end up copying from _my_ homework anyway!"

"Hey!" Roxas frowned around a mouthful of ice cream. "I only copy from yours half the time! Hayner's the one who's a blockhead."

"And yet I'm the brilliant one who came up with the idea of going to the beach in the first place," he smirked, handing the cashier at the ice cream place some munny. Pence, Olette, and Roxas turned to each other and rolled their eyes behind his back, holding in chuckles.

Hayner, Pence, and Olette were his best friends ever, and nobody understood or knew Roxas better. He had met them all completely by accident when he wandered into their 'Usual Spot' one after many years ago, and even back then was taken aback by the strange sense of familiarity he felt around the three. Years later, it still hadn't diminished and only came back full-force when Pence had mentioned going to the beach.

He couldn't understand it. Why was he so worked up about earning extra munny to go on vacation this year? A lot of kids around Twilight Town did just that. Roxas couldn't shake the weird feeling forming in his gut, but he decided to ignore it and downed the rest of his ice cream, following his friends as they slurped theirs.

"Hey, did any of you guys do the Independent Studies homework?" Hayner suddenly asked when they were all back at the Usual Spot. "I can't figure it out."

"You're impossible," Olette sighed. "Here, let me see it."

"You're a lifesaver."

"I end up doing _your_ homework half the time, so you can make it up to us by buying all of us the ice cream tomorrow, okay?" She smirked a smirk only Roxas could see.

"Fine, fine. Hey Roxas, wanna have a practice Struggle match tomorrow?"

Roxas didn't even blink at the abrupt topic change. Hayner got very bored quite easily. "Sure, I guess, but the Struggle isn't for months. Don't we usually start practicing during spring break?"

"I saw Seifer out on the sandlot the other day." Hayner narrowed his eyes. "He's obviously already practicing, and we can't let him win this year! If it means a few more weeks of practice to win, I'm willing to do it!"

"If only you put as much energy into your homework," Olette said good-naturedly, handing the paper back to the blond. "You'd win the title match _and_ pass all your classes on your own."

"Hmph." Hayner shoved the most-likely-correct homework into his bag. "Thanks, Olette. Double ice cream for you tomorrow."

"Hey!" Roxas and Pence protested.

"Kidding." Hayner grinned. "Hey, I wonder if Seifer's off the sandlot yet. Maybe we could have our practice match now."

"Sure." The word was barely out of Roxas's mouth before Hayner was up and running, crying that the last one there was a rotten egg. Roxas blinked, and suddenly Olette and Pence were off running and laughing. "GUUUYS, WAAAIT!"

"Shake a leg, rotten egg!" Olette giggled when Roxas had arrived at the sandlot huffing and puffing. He just glared between deep gasps of air.

When he'd caught his breath, he realized that Seifer was still taking over the sandlot, and having a match with his buddy Rai at that. However, the minute Seifer noticed Hayner standing there looking very, well, pissed off, he finished Rai off with a whack of his Struggle club ("Geez, that really hurt, ya know!?") and pointed it at Hayner. "Guess I've gotten finish one of you lamers off now."

"You wish." Hayner poised his own Struggle bat and got it ready for battle.

Roxas stayed on the sidelines with Pence and Olette and cheered him on, but some odd reason, couldn't help himself from feeling a little...regret. Was it regret? He didn't know. All he could think was that it was supposed to be _him_ up there having a match with Seifer.

And no ordinary match, either—the title match at the official Struggle tournament. He rubbed his temples. Was he becoming freaking _psychic_ or something? Did this mean he would face Seifer in the title match? Roxas had no idea, but something about that event just pounding in his skull as a misty black fog.

He didn't get it. He hadn't been able to make it to the title match last year because Hayner and Fuu had surprisingly kicked his butt in the preliminary rounds. It was really weird, but now he was totally ready to dominate the title match, hold up the dorky champion belt they always gave the winner, have everyone chant his name proudly--

It wasn't until Hayner had thrown his club in the air in victory that Roxas came out of his thoughts. Blue eyes blinked rapidly and everything quickly came back into focus, his hurried heartbeat slowing down with it. Seifer looked pretty angry, but hey, it was his own fault for challenging Hayner in the first place.

"Just wait until next time, chicken-wuss!" Seifer threatened. He spun around and angrily left the sandlot with Rai and Fuu walking after him, and Vivi slowly tailing behind.

Hayner grabbed the blue club and propped it on his shoulder, grinning broadly. "That should teach him to mess with us. C'mon Roxas, let's practice."

"...Alright," Roxas agreed after a pause. The weird familiarity was still stirring in his stomach, but he cast it aside for now and found another Struggle bat, putting his best battle-face on. Hayner was still grinning, waving his club around with one hand while Roxas held onto his with two, something that only added to the weirdness he was feeling.

In fact, charging at Hayner and yelling battle cries just gave him the strangest sense of...deja vu?

--

"Wow Roxas, you keep that up, and you'll _definitely_ take the title match!" Pence said while the friends were all walking towards their respective homes. "How many matches did you win against Hayner?"

"Okay, okay, Roxas got better at Struggling! I give!" Hayner threw his arms up in defeat, trying to sound angry, but turned and grinned at Roxas to show he wasn't really. "That was really cool the way you fought today. Maybe now we'll _finally_ have someone to put Seifer in his place!"

"Let's hope I can retain my awesome battle skills until then," the blond joked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh, you will!" Hayner paused in front of a very early poster for the Struggle tournament that summer. "Only if you keep working at it, that is. Let's practice every day until then, okay?"

Roxas stared at the poster with unblinking eyes, wondering why it evoked even more weird feelings in him. "Sure." He held up his arm. "It's a promise."

The friends slapped their fists together in some bizarre kind of high-five. "Definitely," Hayner replied.

"Every _day_?" Olette sighed. She put her hands on her hips and pretended to look annoyed, but it was plain to see that she was trying not to smile. "I hope you're not expecting me to do your homework all those times."

Hayner held up his hands. "I didn't say that!"

"Maybe we could let Olette go up against one of us," Roxas laughed.

"Are you crazy!? She'd kick our butts!"

"Darn right!"

"Uh oh, you guys! You might have a new contender in the tournament!" Pence added, and the four friends laughed for what seemed like ages.

Not for the first time, Roxas wished he didn't have to be apart from them when he went home that night.

--

Roxas knew that it wasn't very unusual to have recurring dreams, but he imagined it _was_ pretty weird to dream the exact same thing for a week in a row, especially if every single time you woke up gasping for air and your heart pounding wildly in your chest.

The dream itself wasn't all that interesting. It was just him in some kind of vague, empty place where colors were a once in a lifetime opportunity. He was always surrounded by a strange black mist that prevented him from seeing more than a few feet in front of him—not that there was much to see.

After running around for a bit, he'd see something—or _someone_ among the fog. It was faintly outlined by slivers of light, and it kept Roxas's attention until a flurry of flames would suddenly erupt and engulf him.

It was when things would start to get interesting that those blue eyes would fly open and he'd be panting for breath, wondering if this all meant something or nothing at all.

--

He knew he probably should've told his friends about the dream and asked them what they thought it meant, but something always stopped him. Roxas always figured that they just wouldn't understand, although now he was wondering if that was really true.

Pffft, like his friends would even take him seriously. Especially Hayner. They'd write it off as nothing but a dream and continue on with their nice, normal lives.

Roxas had to laugh at himself for that one. He'd _never_ been very normal.

"Hey Roxas, you awake?"

"Huh?" The blond blinked and looked around. Hayner, Pence and Olette were standing near the entrance of their Usual Spot, and Hayner had his Struggle bat with him.

"We're heading out to the sandlot," Olette said. "Are you coming? You and Hayner need to keep practicing!"

"Yeah..." Roxas frowned. "Hang on, I don't have my club with me. I'm gonna run home and get it first."

"They got stuff you can borrow," Pence pointed out.

"Hey, that club's my lucky weapon. Who knows how many times I'll beat Hayner with it?" Roxas, Pence, and Olette laughed while Hayner just scoffed and looked sheepish. "Anyway, I'll be quick. You guys go on ahead."

"Okay, man. We'll see you there." Hayner gave a two-fingered salute and started off towards the sandlot.

"If you've not there in fifteen minutes, we'll check the ice cream place." Pence grinned and quickly dodged a smack from Roxas. "Hey, it _would_ be the first place you'd wander off to."

"Yeah, yeah." His friends knew him too well. "I won't get distracted, though," were his parting words before he darted for home, intending to just quickly dash up to his room, grab his Struggle bat, and race back to the sandlot.

Of course, intentions are only as good as the people who have them.

There were a ton of people out and about this time of day; mostly fellow kids that went to Roxas's school or businesspeople getting a late lunch break. Twilight Town was a very quaint little place, but when everybody gathered at once, it could seem overwhelming.

Roxas ducked past a gaggle of schoolgirls onto a relatively empty sidewalk. Ah ha, he knew a shortcut back to his house from here. Awesome. Even better, there was only one other person going this way—well, the opposite way.

The blond didn't even bother to really look at the other person; they were there and going about their business, and that was all that mattered. Roxas was going to get home and then to the sandlot to duel with Hayner in hopes of winning the tournament that summer. Very routine. Very safe.

And then _it_ happened.

_It_ wasn't something Roxas could easily explain to himself or _anyone_, ever; it was one of those _unspeakable_ things. Sacred.

But as fast as it had happened, it was over. Roxas and the other person on the sidewalk crossed paths on opposite sides of the concrete, and something _attacked_ his very core, a feeling so strong that he was forced to stop in his tracks and turn around to glance at this other person.

The Other Person had stopped and was staring at him. The Other Person wasn't anybody Roxas had ever seen around Twilight Town before; he must've just moved here. There wasn't any doubt he'd forget those outrageously spiky red locks, startling green eyes, and strange facial tattoos.

The redhead frowned, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Have we met?"

For some odd reason, Roxas hesitated to answer 'no', even though he was absolutely _positive_ he'd never seen this guy before. He racked his brain, trying to remember if he'd seen this Other Person somewhere, _anywhere_ before in his lifetime.

But he came up blank, and could only answer the question with, "...No, I don't think so."

Green eyes narrowed even more, seeming to size the blond up with an emotion Roxas couldn't recognize or decipher. After a moment, the redhead shrugged and turned away to continue to wherever he had been going, unaffected by the exchange that had just taken place.

Roxas spun around and began walking home again, but he couldn't ignore how _fast_ or _hard_ his heart was pounding. It felt somehow felt familiar.

It was only a few steps later that he realized it was the same desperate, grasping feeling he always felt when he was woken up from that dream.

_Who was that guy?_

One thing flitted across Roxas' mind, and he knew the thought would stay there until he obeyed it:

_Follow him._

- - - - -

_WHAT WILL ROXAS FIND? Tune in, uhh...whenever I write Part II of this, which will hopefully be by the end of the month. Meep._

_**Reviews **are totally loved and appreciated! And you get one of my awesome brownies. Mmm, brownies._


	2. Part II

_Finally, the next part! Blame my new roommate for this getting here so late. He likes to steal the computer from me on a regular basis, ugh._

_Enjoy!_

**Part II**

"Touchdown! The crowd goes wild!"

"Hayner, are you going to help with this, or are you just going to shoot paper footballs at Pence all day?"

"I'm not shooting them _at_ him! See, he's making a goal with his fingers. I'm going for a world record here!"

"You've already set a world record for getting a girl to do more of your homework in one day than you ever have in your whole lifetime. I can't do this project by myself, though! So are you going to help or not!?"

Hayner and Pence held up their hands. "Yes ma'am."

"Good." Olette turned to Roxas, a slight frown crossing her features. "Roxas, are you okay? You haven't said one word to any of us all day."

"Must be ice cream-withdrawals," Hayner muttered. "The shop's not open on Saturday morning. I can only imagine the _pain_ and _misery_ and _woe_ he must be feeling...!"

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "You actually use your brain?"

"He speaks!" Pence laughed, shooting the paper football at the blond. "But seriously man, you've been really quiet all morning. Something up?"

"Yeah...no...I don't know." The other three stared at him like he'd grown a third arm until Roxas just sighed and shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Look, I'm going to...walk around, clear my head a little. I'll meet you guys at the sandlot this afternoon, okay?"

"But Roxas!" Hayner began to complain, until Olette shot a Look that settle him down. Roxas gave a small smile and got up, walking towards the area he had found himself in yesterday.

His encounter with the mysterious redhead had been, quite frankly, really freaky. Roxas could only remember feeling such déjà vu when he'd met his friends so many years ago. But this...it had been something more than just déjà vu, something unfathomable.

The blond rested his chin in his hand, staring off into space as Hayner and Olette argued about the rules of paper football. His mind drifted back towards the events of yesterday afternoon.

Following the redheaded stranger had pretty much led him nowhere. Roxas had tiptoed until he'd reached the new development of Twilight Town; the mass of homes that had once been a dense forest. A spooky, old mansion that was rumored to be haunted towered over all of the new homes – why they couldn't tear _that_ down instead of the forest, Roxas didn't know. Bah.

Roxas didn't need to go very far; the redhead had entered house 138 on the first block and got completely chewed out for being late by an angry-looking blonde woman ponytails sticking out the top of her head before disappearing inside.

Some sleuthing _that_ had been. He'd uncovered a big, fat, nothing, except now he knew that the redhead possibly had a girlfriend. Who knew if house 138 had actually been his home? Maybe it was the girl's. Or maybe they were related, somehow. Or maybe...

'_Or maybe I need to stop thinking about that guy so much and forget all about when we passed each other on the sidewalk,'_ Roxas thought. He glanced up at his friends. Pence and Olette were tag-teaming against Hayner in paper football, and Hayner was trying to beat them by himself, but Roxas knew he'd be asked to join in very soon.

_This_ was what he needed to be concentrating on – his friends, his _real_ friends that were there and didn't make him feel so totally weird. After all, the Struggle was coming up and _someone_ besides Olette needed to get started on that one project for Independent Studies...

--

Axel winced visibly as the stench of incense hit him full-force. Ugh, dealing with idiots at the Hollow Bastion Academy was bad enough; the least he should've been able to do was come home without wanting to gag.

"Yo, Larx!" he called, dumping his bag in the main hallway of his home. Well – his aunt and uncle's home.

"_What!?_" came an annoyed reply from...the kitchen. Or maybe the rec room? Who knew? Axel could hardly think with the stink hanging in the air.

He wandered his way through the house, noting that his second guess had been correct, and his cousin Larxene was sprawled out on the floor, playing some sort of shooter game on their GameStation. "Is Naminé here?"

"Duh," Larxene replied, button-mashing like mad. Axel swore that if she was concentrating any harder, the blonde ponytails at the top of her head would start to stick straight up.

"Why is she burning so much incense? You know the smell of it makes me gag."

"Hmm, I dunno. Maybe because she wants to?" Larxene snarled, narrowing her eyes as some NPC on the screen dared to shoot her character.

"Did you even talk to her about it, like I _asked_ you to?"

"Why the fuck would I?"

Axel blinked, and his lips curled into a devious grin. "You are so whipped."

"What the hell are you talking about?" The blonde continued to button mash, seemingly getting more pissed off the more Axel didn't just _go away._

"You're so whipped by Naminé, I could put you on some pie. Ha, ha, Whipped Larxene with a helping of Naminé Pie. How does that sound?"

"Shut up," she hissed, throwing the controller at Axel as her character got shot into oblivion. "You know as well as I do that her parents don't like her practicing Wicca. I get her to do my lit homework for me every day, so it's the _least_ I could do."

"Uh-huh."

Larxene narrowed her eyes dangerously. "_What!?_"

Axel held his hands up in defense. "I didn't say a word, 'cuz. Just get her to stop burning so much of the crap, okay? It's giving me a headache."

"I burn it as a representation of the air element in my circles, and this particular one took longer than I thought."

The cousins whipped their heads around to see a short, sweet-looking blonde with her hair carelessly hanging over one shoulder, a small smile on her face.

"Naminé!" Larxene blurted out. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to hear I'm the cause of Axel's grouchiness when he gets home," she giggled. "I'm sorry I've been using so much incense lately, but Imbolc is coming up and..."

Axel held a hand up and rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just calm down with it, okay? Or keep the door closed, or something."

"Okay," she agreed. "Larxene, I'll meet you in the library tomorrow morning so I can help you with your lit homework, alright?"

"Yeah, sure," Larxene replied, going back to the game.

Naminé just smiled a bit and slung a backpack over one shoulder. "Is it all right if I come over tomorrow?"

Axel grunted in reply. "But remember, ease up on the stink."

"You mean incense," Larxene barked, glaring at the redhead.

"Whatever. See ya, Naminé."

"Bye." She waved and gave one last smile before heading out the door. Axel watched as she walked down the sidewalk and out of sight before turning to Larxene again.

"Whipped. She's not _doing _your lit, just _helping _you."

"Shut the fuck up!" she roared, launching herself at her cousin. They got into a brief scuffle that, of course, Larxene ended up winning because Axel was too much of a 'gentleman' to hit a girl, even his own cousin. The blonde just rolled her eyes when Axel admitted defeat and switched off the GameStation. "Just wait until you like somebody."

"Eh?" Axel scratched his head.

"Just wait until _you_ like somebody. Then _I'll_ be the one calling you whipped," she smirked, flicking Axel's forehead before retreating to her room.

Axel frowned at the empty rec room. "Pffft, like I'll ever find someone that likes me." The blonde-haired kid he'd run into the other day briefly flashed in his mind, but he quickly shook his head. He didn't even _know_ the kid, so why bother thinking about him?

Of course, everything is always easier said than done.

--

It was the first day of summer, which meant there was only one thing on everyone's minds: the Struggle.

Roxas was indefinitely glad for all of the extra practices Hayner had dragged him to earlier in the year, because without them, he was sure Vivi would be kicking his butt right about now. For such a short, meek little dude, that kid sure could work a Struggle bat.

Roxas jumped out of the way from Vivi's incoming flips and grabbed a few orbs. Another hit and he'd totally have this in the bag.

'_Concentrate,'_ he thought, dodging Vivi again. He raised his arm to thwack the kid, but without warning, a particular cheer from the crowds reached his ears and caused him to stumble.

"All right, fight fight fight."

Roxas spun on his heel, desperately searching the crowds for...for..._that guy_. However, he failed to take into account that his arms were stretched out, so while he spun, he managed to accidentally smack Vivi, who was coming right for him, clean in the face with his Struggle bat. Vivi fell over backwards, losing many of his orbs. Out of reflex, Roxas went to grab them, but a far-off horn blared which signaled this end of the match.

"Uh, I'm not sure what just happened..." the announcer said uncertainly. "But it looks like Roxas is the winner!"

The blond stared into the crowd as Hayner, Pence, and Olette ran onto the makeshift Struggle ring and rambled words of praise and congratulations to him. Roxas jumped, having finally spotted what - _who_ - he was looking for, and nodded to his friends before running into the crowd.

"Roxas...?" Hayner frowned to the other two.

'_He's here, he's here, he's here,'_ was all Roxas could think. After months and months of thinking he'd made his encounter with Mr. Mysterious up, or that the redhead simply didn't _exist_, here he was at the Struggle.

Roxas skidded to a halt at the sight of a petite blonde girl standing next to the redhead. Seeing her stirred up something similar in his gut that he'd felt with the other guy, although it wasn't as strong as before. She was _familiar_ too.

"H-hi," he stuttered, walking up to them. The girl turned to him and blinked her huge blue eyes, the color eerily similar to Roxas' own.

"Oh, hello!" she said, smiling. "You were the boy up there just now against Vivi, right?"

"Yeah." Roxas cleared his throat. Why was he so nervous?

"Vivi's in some of my classes at the middle school," she continued, seemingly oblivious to Roxas' discomfort. Huh, the middle school. So that would explain why he'd never seen her around, considering he was a freshman at the high school. "The Struggle was all he could talk about on the last day of school!"

"You don't say," Roxas mumbled, his gaze drifting towards the redhead.

"Oh, I'm sorry! My name is Naminé," the girl introduced, laying a hand on her chest. She gestured towards the man beside her. "And this is my friend, Axel."

"You mean your future in-law," Axel mumbled, staring at Roxas with furrowed brows. He'd finally seemed to recognize the blond boy and didn't seem too happy about it.

Naminé smacked Axel. "Shush, you."

"Huh?" Roxas blurted out, his confusion getting the better of him.

"He's convinced his cousin likes me," she said, rolling her eyes. _His cousin._ "Anyway, I'm sure we've taken up enough of your time. Isn't there another match coming up?"

"Yeah, but..." Roxas frowned. He only had to fight Setzer, the top Struggler of Twilight Town, but that was really more of an honor thing. He'd pretty much already won the tournament.

"Want to hang out with us, then?" Naminé asked with a smile. "If you don't have any more matches to fight, that is."

"Yeah, why don't you come back with us?" Axel muttered, crossing his arms. He'd avoided looking at Roxas ever since he'd seemed to recognize him.

Roxas looked back towards Hayner, Pence, and Olette, who were all chatting with Setzer – probably to find out his strategy for a match Roxas then knew he wouldn't be fighting.

"Okay," he said, looking at the two friends. "I'll go back with you."

Naminé smiled. "This way." She gestured in front of her, and the three started to walk towards something unknown, with Roxas along in the middle of the two. This was inevitable, Roxas knew – all of it.

Even the part that stung when he realized Axel still wouldn't look at him.

--

_Oh, don't worry Roxas, we all still love you. T-T_

_DiZ_ _called Naminé a 'witch' in the game, so I figured it would be appropriate for her to practice Wicca. ;D It actually kind of suits her. Circles can be very calming._

_Anyway, **reviews **are love, even if it's just a few words! I totally appreciate and read any and all feedback, and would love some more for this particular story. –smiles- Some more brownies, maybe? ;D_

_Part Three (the last part) will be up...I don't know. Hopefully soon. xD_


	3. Part III

_Last part! –sob- I love this one. Oh woe. –swoons- I hope you guys like it, too:D_

**Part III**

Roxas discovered something about Axel that fateful day after the Struggle:

He was pretty much the weirdest guy he'd ever met.

There was really no other way to describe him. The blond had figured it out the minute he was let into house 138, and Naminé was running off and calling for somebody named Larxene, while Axel plopped himself in front of a freaking Sega _Genesis_, of all consoles, and started zooming Sonic the Hedgehog through loops and whacking robotic fish on the head.

Roxas could only stare. A _Genesis?_

It was silent in the room except for the tune of Sonic collecting rings. Roxas twiddled his thumbs. "So...why a Genesis?"

"I like the classics."

"You seem like more of a Knuckles person." Axel stared at the blond, and Roxas sputtered, "Y'know, because of your hair and...stuff."

Axel rolled his eyes. "Look, Naminé was the one who invited you over, not me. Why don't you go find her?"

"...Fine."

Roxas didn't see Axel gripping the controller until his knuckles were white, and the way Axel stared at his moving form until he left the room.

Axel shuddered. The kid made him feel so _weird_.

--

Summer was usually a time for Roxas to hang out with his friends, eat some ice cream, and beg Olette to do that summer book report they always left hanging until the last second. However, Roxas fell into a very different routine that summer, and he knew Hayner, Pence, and Olette didn't like it.

He'd spend the morning with the three of them in the Usual Spot, deciding on a plan for the day – which was usually odd jobs to save up for the beach or having a practice Struggle match. They'd all have lunch together, and then Roxas would sneak off to house 138 in the new development and hang out there for hours; sometimes until midnight.

Roxas felt incredibly guilty about leaving behind his other friends, especially since his cell phone would ring multiple times while he was chatting with Naminé or playing against Larxene in a shooter game, and it would be Hayner or Pence or Olette, asking where he was.

"Nowhere," was always the answer, because he had to ask himself sometimes, _where_ was he, indeed? He wasn't over at a friend's house; that was for sure. Oh, yeah, he could call Naminé a friend, but this wasn't her house. He'd found that out pretty quickly, after her father had called the house one day and demanded to know where she was, yelling how she'd, "Better not be doing that Wicca crap!"

Roxas _really_ never wanted to meet Naminé's father.

And Larxene wasn't really a friend; she was more like somebody Roxas could hang out with whenever it was convenient for the both of them. Besides, whenever Naminé was over, she never spared Roxas a second glance, anyway. She was just there to make the place feel more...familiar.

Then there was Axel.

Axel always seemed to keep to himself, occasionally giving a snide remark to Larxene, or cursing at something. Roxas got the feeling that it was his presence that kept the redhead so quiet, although about a month and a half into the summer, he managed to actually have a conversation with him.

It was a hot, muggy day, and the house's air conditioner had fizzled out, so everyone in the house was keeping cool by not wearing much. Larxene was sprawled out in short-shorts and a bikini top, while the much-more-modest Naminé wore a loose, white tank top and some shorts. Roxas had a feeling Larxene was wishing Naminé had taken the non-modest route.

As for the guys, Roxas had taken to wearing random baggy white clothes, while Axel wore a loose black tank top and pajama pants. How he could stand wearing pants, the blond didn't know. The heat was _murder_.

Roxas had just gotten a soda out of the fridge – the first sign that a home was _your_ second home was if the inhabitants let you root through their fridge without permission – and plopped down next to Axel, who was playing Sonic...Three? Roxas couldn't tell; all of the games looked the same to him.

"Hey," he said, popping the top to his can.

"Yo." Axel bopped Robotnik on the head multiple times.

"How can you stand wearing pants? It's way too hot outside."

The redhead shrugged, his eyes still on the screen. "You get used to it. My school isn't air conditioned or anything, and the area gets a lot warmer a lot quicker. The uniform requires you wear pants, so, here I am."

"Where do you go to school?" Roxas could still hardly believe he'd been going over to this guy's house ever day for almost two months and he didn't even know what school he went to.

Axel narrowed his eyes. "The Hollow Bastion Academy."

Roxas blinked. "But...isn't that place only for, well..."

"What?"

"Er...troublemakers?"

Axel laughed, which was a cackly, almost frightening sound. "If you call getting caught driving while 'under the influence' one time a 'troublemaker'." He guided Sonic through an underwater level and finally turned to stare at the blond. There was a challenge in those burning green eyes - _Go on, just try not to think I'm a stupid fuck-up. I dare you._

Roxas cocked his head for a moment and looked right back up at Axel; although he knew he was nowhere near as intimidating. Finally, he patted the redhead awkwardly on the knee. "I don't," he whispered before getting up for another soda. Axel could only keep on staring.

On the TV screen, Sonic drowned.

--

"You're in love with him, aren't you?"

"What!?" Axel cried, yanking his hand away from Naminé. "I'm not in love with anyone!"

"Hmm..." She hummed lightly and grabbed his hand back, reattempting to read his palm. "Your love line is curiously strong."

"Well, that's fine and dandy for my hand, isn't it?"

The blonde just smiled. "You know, Axel, denying something doesn't make it go away."

"Oh yeah?" Axel ran his free hand through his sticky red hair. This heat was a _bitch_. "So when will you stop denying that Larx has the hots for you?"

Naminé smiled again. "I've never denied a thing. I'm just still trying to figure out my own feelings – there's a difference."

"Is that what they're calling it nowadays?"

"Well, _you're_ not." Big, blue, Roxas-like eyes peered from under wispy blonde bangs. "You let him play your Sega a few days ago."

"So?" Axel squirmed around.

"You don't let _anyone_ touch that thing." Naminé traced on a line on his palm. "And it completely freaks you out when someone besides Larxene or I drink your soda, but you've been letting Roxas drink those things by the bucketful."

"Well, I don't want him to die of dehydration or anything. Do you know how much paperwork having a dead body here would bring?"

"Not to _mention_," she continued, ignoring Axel's blabber. "That you let him stay over here at _all_. You rarely even invite Demyx over, and you've known him for _ages_."

"The kid just _lets_ himself in," Axel argued. "Who am I to stop him?"

"Axel, you once gave Demyx a black eye because you thought he was breaking in."

"Your point?"

"You've never given Roxas a black eye."

"Yet."

"No, you're never going to give him one." She finally dropped his hand. "You don't hit the one you love."

"Shut up," he growled, and then frowned. People like Naminé were never told to 'shut up'. "Sorry, I just..."

"It's alright." She sat on the couch, her hands flat on her lap. "Axel, do you believe in fate?"

He frowned, a confused look crossing his handsome features. "I dunno, I guess I've never really thought about it. Don't tell me this has to do with my apparent love for Roxas."

She ignored that last statement. "I believe in it." The air had suddenly stilled, and Axel's heart raced. Some gut instinct was telling him that this moment was important, _so_ important.

He swallowed nervously. "Yeah?"

"Yes. Don't you ever wonder why we, of all people, met?" She looked away from him and stared out into the distance, seeing something that apparently not everyone could. "I mean, you're five years older than I am. Larxene isn't that much younger than you. Why did you even bother getting to know someone on a completely different level than yourself?"

Green eyes blinked. "Well, if I remember correctly, Larx and I met you when I was...ten? We were all at the community pool, and you were trying to learn how to swim. Demyx was with Larxene and I, and he felt kind sorry for you, so he taught you how to do the doggy-paddle."

"Demyx has always been a fish out of water," she giggled.

Axel grinned. "And then he introduced you to Larx and I. I remember she grabbed you and declared you were her partner in some race because no one else would pair up with her."

"I _wonder_ why."

"Anyway, we found out you lived right down the road, so as they say, it was the start of a beautiful friendship."

"Indeed it was." Naminé paused. "But don't you ever think that we were all _meant_ to meet? You know how overprotective my father is. He's always been like that – that was the only time I was at the pool that whole summer. None of us went to the same school. Don't you find that a bit odd?"

Axel shrugged. "Coincidence."

"There's no such thing," she replied instantly. "And two months ago, you said you'd rather eat uncooked pasta than watch the Struggle, but _something_ got you out there, and we met Roxas. If someone else had won that match against Vivi, that's the person we would've invited to hang out with us, but no – it was Roxas."

"...That wasn't the first time I'd met the kid."

Naminé sharply turned towards the redhead, her eyes huge. "What?"

He took a deep breath. "It was months before then, I don't exactly remember when. I'd taken a different route coming home from the bus stop because a bunch of jerks from the Academy were trying to harass me, and the kid walked right past me." He blinked. Why did he feel like he was about to cry? "It was so _freaky_. The minute we crossed paths, I just felt like I knew him. He turned and asked if we'd met somewhere, but of course I said no. He just made me feel so _weird_ - he still does."

The blonde had gone back to staring at the wall in the middle of Axel's confession, but he could tell she was still listening intently. After he had quieted, she bit her lip and laced her fingers together. "Axel...do you believe in past lives?"

He nearly fell off the couch. "_What!?"_

"I'm serious," she muttered. "I know you don't believe in stuff like that, but the things that have been coming to me during my circles lately and what you just told me...I really think you and Roxas were together in a past life."

Axel rolled his eyes. "What a load of crap."

"I'm serious!" she said again, this time more urgently. "You just said so yourself that it was practically déjà vu when you two simply crossed _paths_, and now you guys just...click." She sighed. "I truly think you two were - _are_ - supposed to be together, but something happened in your past lives to prevent it, so now you've been given a second chance."

"And what if you're right?"

"Then you need to take that chance!"

Axel sighed. "Naminé..."

"Yes?"

"You've been inhaling far too much incense." He stood up and grabbed his house key, shoving it into his pocket. "It's messing with your brain."

She rolled her eyes. "Where are you going?"

"Wherever I'm supposed to go."

--

Roxas sighed, licking his rapidly-melting sea-salt ice cream, his legs dangling off the edge of the station tower. He hadn't wanted to come here alone, but Hayner was a tad angry at him for totally disappearing in the afternoons to hang out with Axel. Pence and Olette had seemed indifferent, but Roxas could tell they were a little peeved at him, too.

He sighed and dropped the rest of the ice cream bar to the ground, smirking a bit as it landed with a _splat_. Really, what was he getting at? Sure, he'd made a friend in Naminé, but Axel and Larxene were about to graduate soon. He didn't even really get along with Larxene that much, and Axel...

He was just..._Axel_.

Roxas just couldn't ignore the part of him that _couldn't_ stay away from the fiery redhead, the part that longed for the two of them to be closer, the part that couldn't help but think that maybe they were _supposed_ to cross paths that fateful day.

Maybe.

Roxas drew his knees to his chest, burying his face in them. When had life gotten so complicated? When he'd met Axel, that's when.

"Yo."

The blond looked up, trying to keep himself from totally freaking out. "Axel?"

"The one and only." Axel plopped down next to Roxas, keeping one knee bent and letting the other long leg dangle off the edge of the tower. "What are you doing up here?"

"Thinking. Why are _you_ up here?"

The redhead paused. "Something told me to come. Can't ignore a gut feeling, you know."

"I guess." Roxas squirmed around, suddenly feeling extremely uncomfortable and sweaty. The two fell into an awkward silence, until they both turned to each other with open mouths, intending to speak.

"You first," Axel said.

Roxas bit his lip. "Uh...well, did it hurt to get those?" He pointed to the marks on Axel's face.

"It's rude to point." Roxas quickly put his hand down. "Yeah, of course it hurt – for awhile, anyway. After awhile, you just stop concentrating on the pain."

"How come you got them on your _face_?"

Thin shoulders shrugged. "It was just something I had to do." Axel glanced at the blond. "Hasn't there been anything that you absolutely _had_ to do?"

Roxas just stared for a moment, his heart lurching in his chest. _It's my heart. I can feel it._ Without a word, he leaned over and pressed his lips to Axel's.

The current that had always been swimming between them suddenly increased tenfold. Roxas groaned, his knees feeling shaky despite the fact he wasn't standing. Warmth coursed through his body as his heart beat wildly against his ribcage. It felt like every minute he had lived in this life – or _any_ life – was just a prelude to this moment. Everything was insignificant except for the feel of Axel's lips on his – and it was nothing short of the greatest feeling he had ever felt.

It was the redhead who pulled away first, his eye shooting open as his stared at Roxas with those wide eyes.

The blond bit his lip, still slick from Axel's own. "That's something I've felt I _had_ to do. Well, for awhile."

Axel tentatively put a hand over his mouth, not looking disgusted or amazed or anything extreme. He glanced away from Roxas. "The sun's setting."

"Yeah." More silence.

"...Do you want to hear this crazy theory Naminé has?"

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "About what?"

"About us."

"...Tell me."

--

It somehow didn't surprise either of them that the walk they'd taken while Axel was talking led them to the very place where they'd crossed paths so long ago. Roxas stared at the path ahead of him after the redhead had shut up, lost in thought.

"I don't know if I believe in past lives..." he said after a moment. "But I do think fate had something to do with this."

Axel snorted. "Oh, really?"

"Yes." He stared into those jade eyes. "You said this wasn't your usual path home, right?" Axel nodded. "Well, that was the first time I'd ever taken this route, too. I was getting my Struggle bat." Roxas rubbed the back of his neck. "But I found you instead."

Axel jammed his hands in his pockets and kicked a rock with his toe. "Cornball."

"Sorry." The blond laughed. "Do you feel...happy at all? I mean, if I really weirded you out back there, I can –"

"No," Axel abruptly interrupted. "I don't know why, but everything is telling me not to let you out of my sight. Does that make sense?"

"Should it?"

"...I don't know."

"I do." Roxas reached for one of Axel's hands and entwined it in his own. "If I ever left, would you miss me?"

"Yes." It sounded so _automatic_, but it was so _true_.

That seemed to be all the encouragement the blond needed. He once again leaned forward and claimed the redhead's lips in a searing kiss.

This time, Axel responded back enthusiastically, prying Roxas' mouth open with his tongue and battling it with the other's in rapture. They clutched each other desperately, no space between their bodies despite the summer heat.

_Never let this go._

Never let him _go..._

--

When Axel and Roxas arrived back at the house hand-in-hand, Naminé could only giggle politely as she let herself out, while Larxene just looked suspicious. It wasn't until Roxas left a few hours later and Axel had given him a good-bye kiss that she figured it out.

Larxene smirked as she watched the redhead watch Roxas walked down the street. "You're so whipped."

Axel shrugged. "Yeah, maybe." He turned to his stunned cousin. "But I don't mind a bit."

_It was fate that brought us together,  
But our choice to stay together._

--- --- --- owari --- --- ---

_Oh woe. –sob- That is SO how the tower scene in Final Mix should've gone. Smooches make everything better. :D_

_I hope you guys have liked this fic! It was fun to write because AkuRoku rules. Oh yes. :3_

_**Reviews **__are, as usual, totally appreciated! –glomps- Love you guys! –dances-_


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